Dark Paths
by hpenchantress
Summary: When Melinda seeks to prove her powers by killing a demon all by herself, she doesn't realize that she has disrupted a darklighter's master plan. Unfortunately for her, the darklighter is also vengeful. Will anybody see the danger she's in before it's too late? Warning: themes of depression.
1. Chapter 1

**Dark Paths**

_Melinda is tired of being shunted to the side. She knows as much as her brothers about magic and witchcraft, so why is she the one always left behind? Like Chris before her, she now wants to prove her worth as a Halliwell, and killing a demon is just the way to do it! Too bad she has no idea that she's just interrupted a darklighter's scheme and now he's out to get revenge. Will her brothers notice that she's in danger when not even Melinda sees the trouble she's in?_

Warning: themes of suicide and depression

(A/N) Hello guys! I'm back with another Charmed story, the next one in the League of Brothers series! As you can probably tell, though, this is going to be a little different. Melinda is going to have a much bigger role, but I can promise that the brothers are going to play a huge part in this as well. I also recommend you read the stories before this one, since they're pretty awesome. You'll find them on my profile, and I'm sure you'll love them! *wink wink*

Disclaimer: I do not own Charmed, otherwise this would be an episode in the show and not just a story posted on a fanfiction website.

Enjoy!

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Chapter One

The alley was seemingly empty in the middle of the day. The sun was shining brightly overhead, but the entire place was covered in shadows from the buildings on either side of it. There was no sign of movement save for a few loose sheets of newspaper that were being tossed about by the slight breeze. It was a solitary and desolate place in the nastier part of San Francisco, and yet it was about to be frequented by several beings whom usually had no business being there.

There was a sudden movement at the very end of the alley, and a bright young face could be seen to be peeking out from behind a trashcan. The girl's dark hair glistened in the little light that made it into the shadowy street, and her intelligent eyes searched the place keenly. She had been waiting there for quite a while already, waiting for someone who had yet to arrive.

Cursing quietly, she crouched down once more, her calves groaning in protest. She pulled out a map from her backpack, and a crystal. Carefully, she swung the crystal over the map until it stopped, pointing at a location. The girl squinted at the place and sighed. Clearly, she still had a wait ahead of her. She tucked both items back into her bag, which was clearly labeled: Melinda.

It was indeed Prudence Melinda Halliwell who was hiding in the alley that day, waiting for a demon she hoped would come. Rather than stay home as usual while her big brothers went off to save the city of San Francisco time and time again, this time Melinda was doing her own part in the magical heritage. It wasn't fair that she was the only one who still hadn't vanquished a demon on her own. Even PJ had managed to participate in a vanquish a short time ago, and she was younger than Melinda! Melinda planned to fix that by getting her own demon, and showing her family that far from being the inoffensive girl who needed to be protected, she was quite capable in her own right. Everyone would be proud of her. She'd be just like a star!

At the moment, though, she wasn't feeling awesome at all. She'd been hiding out in the alley for ages, told by her crystal that a demon was lurking there, waiting for the right person to come around. So, she'd begun to wait herself. At first, it hadn't seemed so bad, but after the first hour had gone by, Melinda had arrived at one conclusion: demon-stalking was boring. Melinda wished that she'd brought at least a book to pass the time, although she wasn't sure whether it would have been a good idea to read it at all, what with the demon lying in wait and everything. She might miss something.

But nothing of interest had happened, except for a mouse that had peeked its nose out of a little hole, wondering why a young girl was sitting in its alley. Melinda had nearly screamed from the sudden feeling of fur brushing her exposed ankle, but had managed to restrain herself. It was to be expected, she'd thought. It was an alley after all.

A sound then caught her attention, and Melinda turned her eyes to the entrance of the alley, where the innocent was making his appearance. He looked rather haggard and thin, as if he'd lost a lot of weight in a very short amount of time. There were dark circles under his eyes, and his cheeks were pale. His white-blond hair was tangled and greasy-looking, and his eyes looked haunted. In short, he was a mess. Yet Melinda knew that he was the innocent she was meant to protect.

The innocent glanced about the alley, wringing his hands and muttering unintelligible words under his breath. Melinda was rather confused at why he was acting that way, but she figured that as soon as she saved him, he'd be much better. Not that Melinda was quite sure how she was supposed to save him. That afternoon, tired of the relentless teasing, she'd gone to the attic and scried for evil. This was the only place that had come up, but Melinda hadn't had time to do any research on the demon before she'd headed out. Instead, she'd decided to simply trust in her powers and pack a dozen vanquishing potions. That was what her brothers did most of the time anyway, wasn't it? Wing it? So why shouldn't it work for her?

The innocent stood in the mouth of the alley for a moment before beginning to walk forward. Melinda tensed, her fingers searching in her bag for the first vial. Then, she realized her mistake. She was at the back of the alley, while the innocent was at the very front. There was much distance that she had to cover if the demon appeared near the entrance. She'd just have to trust that the creature wouldn't want to be seen and would appear near the back, so as to give her time to destroy him. Still, she'd be cutting it close. It all depended on when the demon made his entrance.

Melinda held her breath as the innocent began walking further into the empty street. One of the newspaper sheets stuck to his foot, and he nearly screamed. His eyes wide with fear, he kicked the sheet away, muttering the whole time. He also glanced around himself several times, almost as if he knew that he was being watched.

At that moment, a demon shimmered in. He was bald and his skin glistened green. He was definitely one of the uglier kinds of demons that Melinda had seen, and she hoped that he wouldn't be too powerful. She needed to take him out as quickly as possible to minimize the risk of him hurting anybody or exposing magic to the innocent. Not that the innocent would notice. As soon as he'd seen the demon, he'd fallen down in a heap. He'd fainted from the fright.

Melinda pursed her lips at the sight of the fallen innocent. The demon paid no attention to the girl. He'd shimmered in with his back to her, and was now pulling a wicked-looking athame out of thin air and preparing to dive it into the innocent lying before him.

"Hey!" The cry escaped Melinda's throat before she realized what she'd done. She tossed a potion right after she spoke. The demon turned quickly. He saw the potion heading towards him and simply sidestepped, letting the vial fall innocently on the street next to him. He then turned his attention to the young girl.

Melinda had gone slightly pale to see the demon avoid the potion so easily. This time, though, she decided she would kill him. She threw another potion at him, but his reflexes were too good. He not only avoided it, but he threw his knife at her as well. Melinda was forced to duck to keep her head on her shoulders. As it was, she still heard the whistle of the knife next to her ear.

Closing her eyes, she called upon one of the powers she'd inherited. A clattering sound filled the alley. Melinda had orbed a large trashcan onto the demon, knocking it down to the ground. Nearly dancing with glee, Melinda then decided to throw a potion at the fallen creature. As the demon vanished in a surge of flames, gone forever, Melinda found herself smiling. That hadn't been as hard as she'd thought it would be, although she really should have used the hours of waiting to formulate a better plan. Maybe she should just have distracted him first and thrown the potions later… That was something to consider. Melinda rose out of her crouching stance and examined the athame now buried in the wall. That demon must have been really strong!

Melinda thought about taking it with her, and then she shrugged. It would work as proof, to show her brothers that she had, indeed, faced a demon by herself and come out victorious. She pulled at the knife, frustrated when it wouldn't come out of the wall. So, she used some more magic. She orbed the knife into her hand, and then tucked it into her backpack. Well, this was a job well done.

Melinda headed towards the exit, a spring in her step. Near the mouth of the alley, she came upon the innocent. He was still unconscious. Melinda considered leaving him there, but then decided that was too risky. She dragged him to the entrance, where someone would easily find him, before walking away back home. Boy, she sure had something awesome to tell her brothers!

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(A/N) Ah, little innocent Melinda... she has no idea what she's getting into. Poor girl. For some reason, I always avoided writing her. I had a few chapters with her in my other stories, but she was never a main character. Now, though, I've decided to get over my fear of writing Melinda and actually dedicating a whole story to her! Anyway, I would very much appreciate reviews. Reviews make me very very happy, so please go ahead and fill the little box underneath, and then I will be even happier when I post the next chapter on Friday next week! As usual, I will be posting updates every Friday, so keep an eye out for them! See you soon!


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Donovan paced back and forth in the dark cave. He'd been waiting for several hours already, and was frustrated to have to wait more. He couldn't believe it was taking that long. He'd practically hand delivered the innocent to the demon, and yet it was taking too long!

Brushing his oily black hair out of his face, he looked at the mortal watch on his wrist once more. It had been spruced up with a little dark magic here and there, but otherwise, it functioned as a regular watch. It was telling him that the demon was over two hours late. He'd promised to deliver the soul by then. Unfortunately, it seemed that that wasn't happening anymore.

A stone rattled in some nearby chamber. Surprised, Donovan conjured his crossbow up in black smoke, pointing it in the direction of the noise. Nothing was there. Donovan knew better than to let it go, however, and he sauntered over to the area, his crossbow still in hand. He caught a glimpse of something, but pretended not to see. Instead, he turned the other way and began to walk back to where he'd originally been standing.

He heard a small exhalation of breath and smiled cunningly. All at once, he disappeared in a swirl of dark orbs and reappeared next to the demon that had been watching him. The demon jumped and pulled an athame out of his pocket. Before he could do anything with it, however, Donovan jammed the tip of his arrow against the creature's neck.

"Move… so much as swallow… and you will die," he threatened the creature.

The green-skinned demon dropped the knife, and Donovan allowed the demon enough room to be able to breathe without fear of getting his throat punctured.

"Now tell me," he hissed. "Why were you watching me? Where you spying or thinking of vanquishing me as my back was turned?"

The demon shook his head. "You sent one of us behind that innocent, remember? I'm just reporting back!" His voice was shaking with fear.

Donovan stepped back, realizing why the green demon looked so familiar. "Ah, I see," he said as he leant over and picked up the athame the demon had dropped on the floor. "Well? Where is my innocent's soul? You promised to have it here for me hours ago!" The apparent calmness on his face was contrasting greatly with the anger of his voice. There was something decidedly terrifying about his reaction.

"Y-yes, we remember," the demon hesitated. "We don't have it, though."

"Well, my green-skinned friend," Donovan said, balancing the athame on the tip of his middle finger, "then what precisely is stopping me from driving this knife into your oath-breaking neck and sending you to hell?" He made as if to throw the dagger, and the demon instinctively cowered.

"No, no! You don't understand!" Donovan paused curiously. The demon, noticing this, pressed his advantage. "The one we sent was intercepted by a witch!"

Donovan was still for a moment, before he began to laugh. "I thought you would at least give me a decent excuse! Your clan is well-known down here for getting jobs done effectively after all. What Is a witch but a simple hiccup in the scheme of my plan? Was the good little witch too powerful for you?" he mocked the demon.

The demon flushed, his cheeks turning darker green rather than red. "Yes, she was. " Donovan once more made as if to throw the knife. "But she had the power to orb! It was unexpected!"

Donovan stopped himself from murdering the demon. Instead, he stepped away from the crouching figure. "She could orb, huh?" he spoke quietly. He glared down at the pathetic creature still trying to hide from him. "Looks like this is your lucky day," Donovan said.

The demon looked up from his position. "Really?" he asked.

Donovan nodded, tossing the athame back at the demon. The green-skinned being caught it with a relieved look on his face. The darklighter took one more step away, and the demon stood up. "Yes, it is," Donovan confirmed.

The demon followed Donovan a bit, extremely grateful not to have been killed yet. Suddenly, the darklighter whirled around and with a terrifying accuracy, inserted an arrow straight into the demon's chest. "Why?" gurgled out of the creature's throat.

Donovan grinned, his too-white teeth glistening despite the darkness. "Because I killed you swiftly. Not too many would do that. I, at least, was merciful."

The demon exploded in a mess of dark green goo. Donovan escaped getting stained by it as he orbed out briefly. Once he'd reformed, standing in the puddle, he looked down and noticed the athame. The demon must have dropped it in the moment when he'd died. A disgusted look on his face, the darklighter picked it up. He glanced at the symbol on it, before balancing it thoughtfully in his hand.

He was a decent tracker. Not particularly good, but he could find those he really wanted to. The witch who had destroyed the other demon might possess the sister athame to the one he was holding, so that would make the process a lot easier. Sister blades always called out to each other.

Whispering ancient dark magic, Donovan watched as the blade began to glow. With a sinister smile, he allowed dark orbs to take hold of him and transport him up into the Mortal World.

-)-(-

He appeared in the middle of a busy sidewalk. People were walking around him, each looking to get to a different location where they would engage in mundane and boring activities. Nobody spared a glance at Donovan. Luckily, he was shrouded in dark magic, which meant that it was difficult to see him unless someone consciously tried to seek him out. And if they did, he wouldn't particularly stand out from anybody else. He appeared to be a sallow-skinned and dark-haired young man barely in his twenties. His greasy black hair which hung in strings over his face to his shoulders and his black clothes weren't particularly remarkable in any way, shape, or form. There were probably thousands of people who looked exactly like him in the busy city of San Francisco. If necessary, he could blend in.

Unfortunately, so could the witch. Donovan was having a hard time picking her out. She had to be somewhere close by. The knife in his pocket had led him here for a reason. One of the lights turned red, and several people began to cross the street. One of them was going against the current, heading in the opposite direction. It was a young girl. She couldn't be much older than sixteen. She had dark brown hair that hung halfway down her back and a round, happy face. She was carrying a backpack that proudly showed off her name for all to see. It was 'Melinda'.

For some reason, Donovan felt attracted to this girl. Without noticing, he'd taken a step in her direction. Carefully glancing around and making sure he was still unseen, Donovan pulled the athame out of his pocket. It was glowing softly. Even as Donovan noticed the pulse of light coming from his weapon, came a similar pulse coming from the girl's backpack.

Donovan smiled creepily. He tucked the blade back into his dark pants and began walking after the girl. He didn't know who she was, but he had a vague idea. One thing was for certain. She most definitely wasn't what she seemed to be. She was no innocent schoolgirl, but a witch who'd somehow managed to vanquish the demon that Donovan had sent after the innocent he'd laid out so beautifully.

There was an art to killing an innocent, and Donovan was always careful to make his plans work out perfectly. Now, however, the stupid girl had ruined it, and Donovan wanted to make her pay for everything that she'd done. She wouldn't be able to mess with his plans anymore. He would make certain of it.

She seemed so happy now, with a special spring in her step, and the way a smile kept drifting about her lips. No doubt she was excited about having vanquished the demon, eager to do it again. She wouldn't be foiling some other evil plan in the future, though. It was amusing, though, to let her believe that she would even live to the next day.

Donovan usually liked to work nice and slowly, but he was very upset at the moment. In fact, he was downright angry, though he didn't show it. His face was impassive as he walked behind the young girl, not willing to know more about her before she was dead. She was just a stupid hiccup, as he'd mentioned to the demon. Hiccups had to be dealt with.

The girl, Melinda, paused to look around herself. She was the kind of person who looked both ways before crossing the street. Good witches usually were. Donovan gritted his teeth and began to call upon his magic. It wouldn't be long now before she fell under his spell. With a final effort, a black cloud left his hand and landed upon the girl. She didn't notice it, though, and neither did the few people around her.

Donovan laughed quietly to himself as he faded into the shadows of the streets. He was prepared to enjoy himself nicely for the rest of the day.

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(A/N) For some reason, I enjoy creating evil characters. There was the Seer in my first two stories, and Malachi in the third one. Now, it's a guy called Donovan. He's pretty cool, don't you agree? Evil and insane, but cool nonetheless. Poor Melinda, she has no idea what she's gotten herself into. Now, Donovan has used his magic on her. What do you think it will do? Well, the summary of this story gives enough of a hint, but I still want to hear your thoughts!

As usual, thanks to those people who added this to their Alerts and Faves, but super special awesome thanks to my wonderful reviewers: Fanycharmed and M. Joseph Day. You guys rock!

As usual, please please leave me your thoughts in the little box below. Can you see it? It's so sad and empty! And the only way to make it happy is to fill it with words! Yup! So you should definitely do that! I mean, would you just let it stay sad? I wouldn't, especially when it has big adorable virtual eyes that look up at you... Trust me, they're there... Please review! And I'll see you next week with the third chapter! Bye!


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Melinda had paused at the sidewalk, still feeling ridiculously happy over having proven herself. She'd been excluded from the rest of her family for way too long. She hadn't been there over the past few months, when even the Source had been to call. Nobody had asked for her help, nobody had even thought to let her know. In fact, her parents had thought it best if she stayed in the school. Melinda had had plans to remain there anyway, but they still should have told her!

That was the problem. Nobody ever thought that Melinda would be interested in a vanquish. Scratch that. They didn't even think that she would be _useful_ when vanquishing a demon. Melinda had no idea why. She was at the top of her class in Magic School, and had even taken classes under her father. All of this happened right under the family's nose, and yet they couldn't see it. She was a strong capable witch in her own right, and she had felt the need to prove herself.

That day, especially, had been frustrating. Melinda had been sitting in the kitchen, listening to her two older brothers as they described how they'd recently destroyed many demons in preparation of a weekend all to themselves. Wyatt had his new girlfriend and wanted to do something special for her. Chris was studying for a big test in his Econ class, and couldn't afford to be distracted. However, instead of asking her to pick up the slack, in case any demon showed up, they'd asked her to let Aunt Paige know that they were planning to take the weekend off. Could they not trust her with the city's protection just for two days?

That had been enough. Instead of going to Aunt Paige like they'd expected, Melinda had sought out her own demon and destroyed him. That was all the proof they'd need that she was capable and would be able to keep the city safe. She was of the same blood, shared most of the same powers. It was about time that they trusted her with this! In fact, they even trusted Wyatt's new girlfriend more than they trusted their own sister! Jennifer, the new addition to the household, was apparently a gifted witch with many capabilities. Melinda personally didn't see what was so special about her. Sure, she'd been able to track a spirit all the way to San Francisco, but other than that, she didn't seem exceptional. She had the power to make herself invisible, and that was it. She didn't possess the Charmed powers, or the strength of the Halliwell line. She was just a regular witch, and yet Wyatt and Chris found it better to trust Jennifer to help with demons than Melinda!

Melinda had been feeling frustrated for a while now, but that morning had finally prompted her to do something about it. Rather than talk to her brothers, though, who would both probably brush her off, she decided to instead find her own demon. Now, the athame in her bag would be enough to prove that she could take over demon-duties for the weekend, and maybe participate more than she'd been doing lately. Melinda wasn't willing to admit it, but sometimes she felt left out of her own family.

As she walked down the streets, an extra spring in her step, she smiled at the people passing by. They didn't know it, but she'd saved them from an evil demon that might have killed any of them. She was their hero!

Melinda paused on the corner of the sidewalk. She was waiting for the light to change so she could cross. She was trying to find a good place from where she could orb back to her house and show off her new vanquish… her first lone vanquish. She was rather proud of the fact. Although it hadn't been very well planned, to say the least. That was one of the reasons that Melinda had to orb back rather than use more conventional means. She'd left the house in such a hurry that she'd completely forgotten to borrow the car, or to even bring extra change for the bus. Instead, she'd left the house with a backpack full of magical potions and a few magic texts. They had been useful for the vanquishing part, but now that she was trying to get home, they didn't work. Luckily, Melinda could orb just as well as her two older brothers. Nobody knew why she'd inherited that ability, but she was grateful that she had.

But now she had to find a discreet location from where to orb back. She would have done it back in the old alley, but hadn't thought about it until she'd already left. Now she was looking for a new location. Unfortunately, she'd moved away from the shadier and emptier part of San Francisco and was now transiting through the tourist-filled area. It wasn't too bad, except that tourists were rather nosy and tended to stick their noses into every single place their eyes could see. That made it a difficult place to orb out from, but Melinda was keeping her eyes peeled as she searched for a discreet spot.

As the light finally changed, Melinda felt a chill in the air. She shivered and looked around. The only people around her was a group dressed in shorts and baseball caps. They all seemed to be talking excitedly about architecture or something of the sort. Nobody was looking at her.

Brushing the feeling off, Melinda stepped off the curb. As she did so, her ankle turned slightly and she winced, but was able to continue across the street. Once she'd reached the other side, she knelt on the sidewalk and massaged her foot through the sock carefully. She must have taken an odd step when she'd advanced. She'd have to be more careful in the future.

Now more eager than ever to find a nice place to orb, Melinda stood up. She couldn't walk much further on her ankle. It wasn't terribly injured, that she knew, but it hurt when she applied pressure on it. Maybe Wyatt could fix it when she got home… or Chris, who'd recently learned how to heal. That was another thing her brothers could hold against her. Melinda couldn't heal. Her mother had told her that she would probably develop that power later, but Melinda just wanted to have it already. It was in her blood, after all, so why did it have to take so long to finally appear?

Melinda hobbled forward carefully, trying not to put too much weight on her hurt foot. Well, that wasn't so bad. At least she could still walk on it. It was just a bad twist, not even a sprain. Trying to keep cheery, despite what had just happened, the young teen continued walking to the next curb. The group of baseball cap-wearing people was there already. They were jabbering in some other language that Melinda couldn't understand. She didn't care to know what they were talking about, but, whatever it was, it seemed very interesting as several of the people were nodding and looking around, wide-eyed and open-mouthed.

As Melinda headed to the very edge, her ankle gave a particularly painful twinge and she fell forwards. There was a tourist right in her way. The girl knocked right into the man and he was sent off balance. With flailing arms, he fell right off the curb and into the street, at the very moment that a car turned the corner and began to race towards them. Melinda had fallen to the ground, still safely on the sidewalk, and her eyes were glued to the man who hadn't been so fortunate. He was still rather confused, and seemed dazed from what had just happened. However, he soon noticed what was going on, and he began to stand up. At that moment, however, the sound of a car was heard, closer than ever. A red Cadillac was racing down the street, heading straight towards the man who had fallen in the middle of the road. The group of tourists hadn't noticed that one of its members was about to become road-kill, and Melinda was frozen to her spot. She couldn't move… she couldn't breathe. Finally, when it all seemed too late, she opened her mouth to scream.

The horrible scene was unfolding before her. She might have just saved the city from a demon, but she'd just knocked a man to his death. Her scream caused the group to notice that their member was no longer there, but was currently kneeling in the direct path of a car. There was nothing they could do. That man was doomed, and it was all Melinda's fault.

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(A/N) I nearly had a heart attack when posting this, as I thought half the chapter had been deleted. Thank goodness for saved files, right? Anyway, so now Melinda is having really terrible luck. Could it have anything to do with the darklighter who is now following her around? And what about the tourist? Looks like he's pretty doomed, right? Poor guy, I feel sorry for him.

As usual, thanks to everyone who put this on their Alerts or Faves. It's so flattering to know you enjoy my story! And, my lovely reviewers: Faye444, Fanycharmed, and M. Joseph Day. I love you guys!

I also got some people saying they didn't find the adorable eyes in the box below. That's weird. Maybe another review will make them appear? See you next week!


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

For a few seconds, everything seemed to be moving in slow motion. The car was still headed towards the man in the middle of the road. Melinda was still lying on the sidewalk. More of the tourists were screaming.

As the car got even closer, Melinda closed her eyes. She didn't want to see what was about to happen. She didn't want to have to face the man getting injured or killed, and all because she had to hurt her ankle and trip over in that exact moment. She had pushed the man into the street, and anything that happened next was all her fault.

Instead of the thump she expected, the sound of screeching filled her ears. Surprised, Melinda opened her eyes again, despite not wanting to see the scene before her, and she noticed that instead of the man lying in the street, there were tire marks around him. He was standing up, his hand on his chest, breathing heavily. Obviously he was quite relieved.

Melinda looked further up the street and noticed the car that had jerked away from running the man over. It was still driving quickly, and as Melinda watched, it crashed into another car. Both cars came to an abrupt halt, their hoods mashed together and smoke rising from the dents. Melinda's mouth opened in shock. One of the drivers appeared to be unconscious, and the other was struggling to get out of his car.

There was a lot of screaming. A lot of people were horrified at what had happened.

As the man who'd fallen into the road stepped back onto the sidewalk, his group instantly surrounded him. They were concerned about him, trying to see if he was ok. He brushed the questions off.

Meanwhile, Melinda began to stand up from her position on the sidewalk. Carefully, she settled into a sitting position, noticing how both of her hands had deep scrapes on them, and how her knees felt as if she'd scratched them under the thick material of her jeans. She was not in good shape. She wasn't as bad off as the men who'd crashed, or the man she'd knocked into the street, but she was still not in good shape.

An elderly woman, part of the tourist group, noticed Melinda starting to stand up. Coming over to the young girl, she began to yell at her, wagging her finger angrily. Unfortunately, she was yelling in some other language, and Melinda only spoke English. She was able to get the gist of it anyway. No doubt it had to do with knocking people into the street and almost accidentally killing the man.

Melinda couldn't really blame the old woman, though. She had nearly managed to get the guy killed. It had been an accident, but had the driver not turned away at the last moment, the tourist would have been roadkill.

The woman continued screaming at Melinda, who was struggling to stand. The other tourists had noticed by now and had joined in. The only one who wasn't speaking was the man who'd fallen into the road. He appeared too stunned and shocked to be able to say anything.

Melinda reddened with shame. She hadn't meant to cause what had happened, but she'd done it anyway. All the people yelling and screaming at her had a right to be angry. She'd already caused a major accident, after all.

Melinda tore her eyes away from the furious group of tourists and glanced over at the two cars with the men inside them. One of the drivers had already exited his vehicle. Other than a bump on his head, he appeared to be fine. The other wasn't so lucky. He was stuck inside his Ford, and some people were struggling to open the door. Melinda wanted to help, but she knew she would be unable to. Not only were there too many people standing around who might notice her doing something magical, but she wasn't sure whether she trusted herself to do anything after having caused a major accident.

People kept screaming, and Melinda felt tears beginning to brim from her eyes. She finally managed to stand all the way up, further infuriating the group of tourists that was accusing her of attempted murder. Guiltily, she bowed her head towards them, mumbling, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to do it."

The tourists didn't understand, or didn't want to understand. All they did was increase the volume of their shrieking.

Finally, Melinda could take it no more. She began to run. She went back the way she'd come, keeping her eyes peeled for a location where she could just orb and get out of there. The screams of the people seemed to be following her, blaming her for the accident.

_You did this_, they were saying to her. _It's all your fault. That man in the car might be dead. The man in the street could have been killed. You nearly murdered two people._

Melinda covered her ears and continued running. She hadn't meant to do it! It had all been an accident, a terrible mistake.

Her ankle was screaming in pain at the fast movement, but Melinda didn't care. What was a hurt ankle when two people might have died because of her?

Finally, she spotted a deserted street. Melinda stepped into it and leaned against a wall, breathing heavily and trying to keep herself from sobbing. Glancing at her reflection in a nearby window, she noticed how her face seemed much paler now, and how her eyes were wide and haunted. Were those the eyes of a murderer?

She began to cry. She couldn't help it. All the horror from the past few minutes was catching up to her and she had to let it out somehow. Melinda sobbed, sitting on the sidewalk, her back against a filthy wall. Nobody was there to witness her misery, and nobody would have particularly cared. She had done a horrible thing today after all.

Her tears began to stop flowing down her face, and Melinda felt much more relaxed than when she'd started. She was still horrified at what had nearly happened, but she'd decided it had been an accident. She couldn't have helped it. She hadn't meant to hurt anybody, though. She'd just wanted to catch herself.

Standing up, Melinda dusted herself off. She looked around the street very carefully before she opened herself up to her orbing abilities. It was a part of her that made her feel tingly and light. She knew everybody had different methods of orbing. Hers was the desire to become lighter than a feather.

It was hard to orb at the moment, though, since she felt very heavy. Guilt and shame were weighing her down, as well as the knowledge that it could have turned out much worse than it had.

Finally, she was able to disappear in a mess of bright orbs. They began to travel over the city, heading to the Halliwell Manor.

-)-(-

Donovan smiled as he reappeared. His plan was going very well. Already the witch had nearly killed a couple of people, all because of her terrible luck. She'd been devastated. Donovan had been able to feel her emotions: the dark anxiety inside of her fed the demonic side of his being. It was delicious.

Now, all he had to do was keep tracking the witch and whisper nasty words into her ears. Eventually, he would be able to convince her to do something particularly bad, as he'd done many times before.

Donovan was skilled at the subtle art of suggestion. Not too many darklighters practiced it anymore, preferring to use crossbows and poisoned arrows. The arrows were effective, but there was something about convincing someone to eventually commit suicide that gave Donovan shivers down his spine. It was a talent he had, and one that was quite unappreciated nowadays. If Donovan had his way, most future whitelighters would be destroyed that way.

The last guy he'd worked on, though, he'd promised to let die in a more… explosive way. He'd gotten the man to walk into a demon-infested alley. It would have worked too, if it hadn't been for the little witch. But it was no matter. The man was still carrying his bad luck around. He'd eventually give in. As to the witch, she was quite a prize. Already Donovan was realizing that this was no ordinary witch. She could orb, for one thing. Not too many witches could do that. In fact, the only ones who could were mostly of the Halliwell family. That had to mean the girl belonged to the notorious demon-killers. If Donovan could bring one of them down, he'd be honored by all the future darklighter generations!

With a grim smile on his face, Donovan allowed himself to vanish in a mixture of dark orbs, following the young girl who had disappeared only moments before. He had a witch to kill.

* * *

(A/N) *more dramatic music* I just love ending on cliffies, or almost cliffies, or moments filled with tension, and stuff that just keeps you on the edge of your seat. Don't blame me, it's just my writing style, and I have to admit, I kind of love it!

As usual, thanks to everyone who added this to their Alerts and/or Faves. You guys made me so happy, especially now that I'm really trying to make sense of a lot of things. Super special thanks to my reviewers: M. Joseph Day, joy, and Fanycharmed. You guys rock!

And, since you guys haven't found the eyes, I'm just going to say this... the more reviews I get, the higher chance of seeing one of the brothers in the next chapter! Not that I'm trying to bribe you or anything, but... ok, so maybe I'm trying to do that, but, I like reviews! Can you blame me, really? See you next week!


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Melinda took a deep breath as soon as her body took shape once more in her room. The brightly colored walls were jarring after the grey of the streets, and as Melinda looked into the large mirror she had on her wall, she noticed how pale and frightened she was looking. Carefully, she wiped away some cold sweat from her brow before putting her backpack on the ground.

The room was a typical teenager's room. It was cluttered, but mostly neat. Shoes were strewn out everywhere; everything from heels to slippers was represented. The bed was covered in big fluffy pillows, and a couple of stuffed animals reclined in a nearby armchair. The only thing that made it a room rather different than most were the books strewn about, with titles such as: _Recent Spell Discoveries_, _Underworld Hierarchy 101_, and _Thyme or Tea Tree, Healing Potions in the Last Century_. Also, there was a long chart on the desk, the Charmed family tree on it. Melinda had been working on a project for one of her classes at Magic School on the origins of her family's magic. There were a few herbs strewn about, tied with brightly colored string, and the triquetra symbol hanging from several pendants. There was also a map and the scrying crystal on the desk.

All in all, it was a teenage witch's room.

The backpack fit the room perfectly. It was girlish, like the room. And as Melinda pulled the athame out of the pocket and set it with the herbs, it completed the witchy aspect of it.

Melinda stared at the dagger thoughtfully. Just a short time ago she'd been so excited about having vanquished her first demon. The first thing she'd wanted to do was to go home and show her brothers. Then, she'd have proof that she could take care of the city for a few days. After what had happened, though, she no longer was so sure.

On one hand, she knew it had been an accident. A horrible accident, but still, she hadn't meant to do it. But there was a small voice in Melinda's head that kept insisting that maybe something strange had happened and that nobody would be safe under her protection. It was a strange voice, and it didn't seem to be taking neither her mother's authoritative tone, Chris's cautious voice, or Wyatt's enthusiastic note. In fact, it was a completely different voice altogether, and one that made Melinda cringe every time she heard it. She couldn't help but believe it, though.

Her common sense was still strong, though, and it told her that she hadn't caused that to happen. She had no reason to feel the way she was feeling.

Still, she hesitated to take the athame down to show her brothers, especially since they would ask how she'd gotten it. Also, she didn't quite look her best. Her face still looked terrified, and her clothes were covered in dirt and street grime.

First things first, she'd have to change. Melinda quickly tore off her shirt and replaced it for a clean one that smelled of her mother's favorite detergent. The jeans were switched for some others that looked nearly identical. Sneakers were kicked off in favor of flip flops. In a few minutes, Melinda looked as if she hadn't left the house at all.

She put the athame in her pocket, wondering when would be the best time to tell her brothers. After glancing quickly in the mirror to make sure she looked slightly better (at least she was no longer deathly pale), she made her way downstairs with the dirty clothes under her arm. Usually, Melinda would have just put them in the hamper. But, at the moment, she didn't want to be explaining why she'd gotten so much dirt on her clothes. If that happened, she'd have to admit she'd nearly killed a man. And that had just been an accident, and not something that needed to be told to people.

With that idea firmly in her mind, Melinda skipped downstairs. Wyatt was sitting in the living room, his eyes glued to the laptop he was balancing on his knees. Melinda peeked over his shoulder to see what he was looking at. "I'm pretty sure that you can get nicer and cheaper bouquets from the florist who does the restaurant," she commented.

Wyatt jumped guiltily and shut his laptop. He saw his little sister standing there, and smiled in relief. "Mel! I thought you were Chris for a moment there. What's up?" He didn't notice that his little sister was looking a little off.

Melinda smiled. She knew that Wyatt was ashamed to admit that he was going all out for this date. Usually, his regular dates entailed dinner at a reasonably priced place and a movie. He'd made it a point to stick to that, until he'd met Jennifer. Melinda had never seen her older brother care for a girl this way, and it made her upset and slightly jealous. He seemed to find Jennifer much better than anyone else. Gone was the brother who'd tease her and convince her to break the rules. He was now chasing after a girl, and no longer had time for his little sister.

"I'm doing all right," she said to him. "Don't try to change the subject, though. Seriously, if you want something nice and not crazy expensive, ask Mom for her florist."

Wyatt blushed, looking down at his closed laptop. "I don't want her to know I'm getting Jen flowers," he finally mumbled.

Melinda laughed. "It's not exactly a secret that you want to impress Jennifer, Wy. But, if you want to be discreet about it, Mom's contacts are on the red book on her bedside drawer."

Wyatt grinned. "Thanks, Mel," he replied, standing up. He made as if to rumple his little sister's hair, but caught himself. He remembered that she didn't like that anymore. Now, she had to look pretty and such. He then orbed himself upstairs to start the search.

Melinda shook her head. Her brother sometimes was just too much. But, she'd managed to have a completely normal interaction with him and he hadn't gotten hurt. So, the accident had been just a one-time thing, right? She wasn't a walking disaster. She'd just tripped and done something very bad. But that didn't mean that she was a menace. She'd just made a mistake. She was human. Everyone made mistakes.

With noticeable relief on her face, Melinda headed to the laundry room. Her oblivious brother hadn't noticed the clothes under her arm, and that had been lucky. She was in no mood to explain at the moment. But, now she felt that it would be smart to brag about the demon she'd vanquished. She'd wait until the perfect moment, however. Maybe they'd all be gathered together, making arrangements for the weekend. Chris would ask about Aunt Paige, Melinda would say Paige was busy, and then pull out the athame. Her brother's wouldn't be able to deny her then! After all, she was part of the inner circle now. She'd vanquished a demon by herself, that meant she could officially join Halliwell hunts or protect the city's innocents like her older relatives. She couldn't wait.

With a spring in her step that hadn't been there before, Melinda hurried to the kitchen. She was almost humming in happiness as she went. Her previous worries were nearly forgotten as she imagined how fantastic the moment of her revelation would be. Everyone would be so proud, and she'd be so excited. The city would be so safe under her control, and her brothers would be able to have the ideal weekend. It was going to be so perfect.

She didn't notice the dark man who was invisibly tailing her. He was standing right behind her, smiling at this false security that the young witch had found. He had allowed her a few moments of happiness, but he couldn't wait until he tore them away again. In his experience, throwing someone into the throes of despair worked better that way. Fall a little, rise a little, fall a lot. It was an art, like he'd thought before.

At the moment, he was just biding his time. The darklighter's curse would take possession of the young witch's life soon. Soon, she would start to believe that she was a walking disaster, a danger to anyone who was within twenty feet of her. As any good person would do, she would do her best to take herself away, get away from everybody else. It wouldn't work though, and soon, she'd only have one way to end it all and protect everybody from herself. Donovan could hardly wait for that moment. He licked his lips in anticipation, as he followed the girl to the kitchen. He had the feeling that his chance was coming up. He could hear the rattle of pots and pans in the kitchen. This would be the perfect opportunity for him to get to work. It was time.

* * *

(A/N) So, this isn't exactly a cliffhanger, but it sort of is... And I'm sorry that Chris hasn't yet appeared, but I swear he will appear in the next chapter! You got to see a little Wyatt, though. I had fun making him all embarrassed and having a huge crush on Jennifer. It's really cute! Plus, it fits in with Valentine's day! Happy Valentine's day! I know I'm slightly late, but I hope you had a great time with someone who cared for you, whether it was a boy/girlfriend or a good friend or family. Remember, Valentine's day isn't just for romantic love! (or, at least, not in my book)

Thanks again to everyone who added this to their Faves and/or Alerts. Huge super special ultra thanks to those who reviewed: Fanycharmed and M. Joseph Day. You guys rock!

Um, please review? I like reviews! Make it a late Valentine's day gift, maybe? See you next week!


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

The first thing Melinda saw as she stepped into the kitchen was her brother Chris. There was a book lying open on the counter in front of him, and the young man kept glancing into it, reading fervently, and turning to the pot. Inside, there was a purplish liquid merrily boiling away.

Chris had always had a knack for potions. Piper usually said that he'd inherited her culinary genius, even though he rarely cooked. In fact, the brewing craze was very recent. Ever since Chris had nearly gotten killed by the Source a few months ago, he'd started taking magic a lot more seriously, and had begun to stock up on potions that could potentially be useful in the future.

It was a good thing, and Melinda was grateful for Chris's foresight, especially as she'd used one of his potions earlier on. However, she couldn't help but feel that it was another way she was being excluded. And sure, she wouldn't usually agree to help make potions anyway (the liquids smelled bad, the pan was hot, and the instructions so specific), it still would have been nice if her brother had asked her to help.

At the moment, he seemed extremely focused.

"Hey, Chris," Melinda said to him briefly. She figured that he probably didn't want company right now. He was supposed to be studying for his test after all. Instead, he was doing magic. He was probably worried that Aunt Paige wouldn't be able to handle everything for the weekend, ridiculous as it was. Sometimes, it was as if he forgot that his mother and aunts had been protecting the world for much longer than he had. Melinda knew that he just wanted to be prepared, though.

Chris glanced up. "Hey," he replied. His voice wasn't dull, but receptive to more conversation, which made Melinda feel slightly better. "How has your day been? I haven't seen you since this morning." He sprinkled some sort of herb into the liquid, and it turned bright yellow.

Melinda smiled at her brother. "It's been good," she replied cautiously. She was careful not to let Chris see her face or hear any change in her voice. Her brother knew her well enough to be able to tell if anything was wrong, and Melinda still wasn't sure whether she wanted to tell him about what had happened or not.

Ducking into the laundry room, she stopped to take a breath. She heard activity still going on in the kitchen: a sure sign that he hadn't noticed anything amiss and wouldn't be asking any more questions. With a sigh, she walked back out again. Chris was once more staring at the brew.

"So," Melinda started again, trying to inject her usual happy self into her voice, "what are you making?"

"I'm combining two of our vanquishing potions and trying to make a new stronger one. I know Aunt Paige basically revolutionized the offensive branch of them, but I was hoping that this would apply to a broader spectrum of demons," Chris said quickly as he added another herb.

Melinda grimaced at the pungent smell now being given off. It smelled like feet combined with raw onions and old chicken skin. Not very pleasant. "I thought you would be studying Econ instead of magic," Melinda commented, trying not to gag. Really, she had no idea how her brother could even stand the smell. She wanted to run out of the room already and she was standing a few feet away. Chris was getting a face full of the stuff!

"Yeah," Chris sighed. He closed his eyes briefly before turning the serious green orbs onto his sister. "I just wanted to make sure that everything is ready in case of a demon attack. I don't want to be interrupted when I'm in full-on study mode. I want to be able to focus either on Econ, or on magic. Not both."

That was why Chris was so much like their mother. He always wanted to keep both of his lives separate from one another. Melinda knew that it was getting harder and harder for him as more magical responsibilities were put on his shoulders. At first, he'd resented magic, probably from people considering him inadequate. And now, he was trying to make up two lives for himself. One where he went to college and got good grades, and the other where he stayed up late and kicked demon butt with his big brother. He wouldn't admit it, but Melinda knew he was trying to live up to the hype of being Wyatt's younger brother. So many people had already tried to get to Wyatt through him, and Chris couldn't forgive himself for being an unwilling tool in so many schemes. No one blamed him for it, obviously, but he had some blame for himself.

Melinda understood what it was like. She was also feeling that way, as if nobody considered her as important as her oldest brother. Being one of the Twice-Blessed's siblings was hard. Unfortunately, that wasn't going to change, and so, she'd had to learn to live with it. However, since she'd never left Magic School, it was different for her. She had one life to live, that of a teenage witch. And now, people in the magical community respected her from her actions in school. Chris hadn't gotten the chance to prove himself before he'd retired to the mortal world and thrown himself into mortal activities. Melinda had gotten a taste of being admired, at least by her friends.

But that wasn't enough when her own family wouldn't let her participate in the usual family activities. Maybe she could pull the knife out now and show Chris. She could just leave out the part where she'd caused the accident.

Instead of saying that, though, when Melinda opened her mouth she remarked, "You know you could ask somebody else to do that. Why not me? I'm willing to help!"

Chris smiled at his sister's offer. He glanced up at her and considered her suggestion. "All right. You can help out right now," he said. "Hand me the pig's feet, will you?"

Melinda looked slightly stunned. Obviously, she hadn't meant for her offer to be taken quite so literally, and to be accepted that easily. With a wrinkled nose, she gingerly reached over and grabbed a hoofed foot. She shuddered slightly. That was one of the reasons she was unwilling to brew potions with the rest of the family. A lot of the ingredients tended to be more than a bit disgusting.

Melinda felt a bit of cold air enter the room, and she shivered slightly before tossing the foot straight towards the potion.

Chris noticed what she had done, and moved quickly. "No, Mel, it's not supposed to go in yet!" he cried out, telekinetically shoving her away.

The potion then exploded.

Melinda, who'd been tossed to the other side of the room and was now leaning against the wall, opened her eyes. Her ears were ringing, and she could barely hear. As her brown eyes opened, she noticed a shape flailing around. It was surrounded by bright colors.

As her vision cleared, Melinda noticed that the figure was Chris. When the potion had exploded, the arm he'd stretched out to save his sister from the liquid had caught on fire. His sleeve was burning, and he was waving it around, trying to put the fire out. His eyes were round with terror, and his mouth was opened wide. He seemed, however, too terrified to scream.

As soon as Melinda saw him, though, she did that for her older brother. "Oh my God! Chris!" Her shrieks were barely audible to her own ears. She ran to the sink and opened the taps. Using her telekinetic orbing abilities, she conjured a large mass of water to fall on top of her brown-haired brother. Most of the flames were put out, and as most of them disappeared, Chris's frantic actions stopped.

Grabbing a damp rag, Melinda proceeded to beat at the flames that were left. Once they were all extinguished, she winced at the sores she saw underneath. Her brother's skin was barely recognizable from the burns he had sustained.

Melinda opened her mouth once more, this time for a different reason. "Wyatt! Wyatt! Come quick!"

She couldn't believe what had just happened. She'd made such a stupid mistake, putting in the pig's foot when her brother had only asked her to hand it to him. She hadn't read the instructions; she didn't even recognize the potion he'd been working on. She'd simply assumed that he'd meant to put the foot into the potion. Her assumption had caused horrible consequences.

Not for the first time, Melinda wished that she could heal. But as she couldn't, the only thing she could do was wait impatiently, listening to Chris's coughs from the smoke he'd inhaled, as she waited for Wyatt to appear and heal the brown-haired young man. "Hang on, Chris," Melinda begged. "Hang on."

* * *

(A/N) There's just something about Chris that gets him hurt in every single story I write, isn't there? Whoops. Sorry? I don't know, I guess it's just the way he is, and the way I am. Anyway, so now, Chris has appeared! Yay! You may now thank me! I know a lot of you guys were waiting for this moment ;) and finally it's here! And Melinda seems to have screwed up big time. What will happen next?

As usual, thanks to everyone who added this to their Faves/Alerts, or people who just read it randomly. Special super awesome thanks to my reviewers: Fanycharmed, joy, and BCre8tive. You guys are the best!

And now, I have to say goodbye, but not before getting on my knees first, holding out the review box, and making big puppy-dog eyes at you. How can you resist this, honestly? See you next week!


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

For a moment, Melinda thought that her voice had been unheard, that Wyatt hadn't heard her scream for help. Chris was holding his arm out painfully. His eyes were watering but his teeth were gritted shut, not allowing any sound of weakness to escape his mouth. Even now, with his arm burned so severely, he was refusing to appear weak. He'd always struggled to prove his strength, and now that he had, he was reluctant to lose that image that he had made for himself.

Luckily, he wasn't forced to remain in pain for long. With a swirl of bright light, Wyatt appeared in their midst. He looked rather surprised to have been called so abruptly. In his hands, he still held Piper's book, a pen parting the pages. The pen's cap was in his mouth. As soon as he saw his surroundings, however, he spit it out. "What happened here?" he asked with amazement and more than a little fear. Piper would be furious with the way her kitchen now looked. There was potion splattered everywhere, even dripping from the ceiling!

"Wyatt," Melinda called him to attention quietly. She pointed to Chris, who by then was leaning against the table, his eyes firmly shut as if he couldn't bear the sight of his mangled arm.

Wyatt instantly sprang into action. "What happened?" he repeated more insistently as he placed his hands over his brother.

Chris sighed in relief as he felt his skin become smooth and whole once more. He then was able to trust himself to open his eyes and mouth. "Just a potion accident," he said, forcing his face into a smile. "Nothing to be worried about. It happens."

"The hell it does," Wyatt said, his eyebrows raised. "I don't think I've seen the kitchen like this since the cake incident."

Melinda had retreated into a corner. In her mind's eye she could still see Chris on fire. If Wyatt hadn't been there to heal him, the brown-haired young man would have been severely hurt. "It's all my fault," she whispered.

Despite how quietly she phrased her guilt, Chris's soft green eyes instantly turned in her direction. "No, Melinda," he said seriously. "It was an accident. You have nothing to blame yourself for."

"But if I hadn't-"

Melinda was abruptly cut off as Wyatt interrupted the argument. "Whoever's fault it was, it doesn't matter. What I do know is that both of you better start cleaning up or Mom's going to have a heart attack as soon as she sees this place."

The two younger Halliwells looked around guiltily. They could just imagine Piper's face as soon as she opened the door to see her previously pristine kitchen now destroyed.

"We better get to work," Chris said quickly, reaching into the closet and pulling out a mop, a bucket, and a few dishrags. Tossing the mop to Wyatt, Chris turned on the tap in the sink. He noticed the blond carefully leaning the mop against the side of the table instead of using it. "What? You're not helping?" Chris asked as Melinda reached over, grabbed a wet rag, and got to work.

Wyatt shook his head. "Nope. Your potion, you clean. I didn't make the place blow up."

Melinda cringed as she wiped some liquid away with her rag. She also used her powers to extinguish the small fires that kept popping up. Her eyes looked only at her hands, and her face was pale.

Her hunched posture and unnaturally quiet demeanor was enough for Chris to glance over at her curiously, but he didn't comment on it. Instead, he retorted to Wyatt, "Yeah, but you're in charge. So, technically, it's your fault for not supervising us while we used magic."

Wyatt opened his mouth, ready to respond. He then realized Chris was right, and he sighed in exasperation. "Remind me again why you're not studying law?" he asked. How did his brother manage to do this so often?

"Law's a demon's job," Chris replied, grinning. "Now how about you help?"

"Oh, I will," Wyatt said, a grin on his own face. Before his younger brother could intervene, he raised his arms and recited, "_Let the object of objection become but a dream as I cause the seen to be unseen._" Power radiated out of his fingertips. The kitchen was coated in magic. Melinda retreated hurriedly from the now-clean counter.

"Wyatt! Personal gain!" Chris complained. He was about to say something more when a strange shape caught his eye. As the spell finished cleaning the kitchen, a blurry figure appeared behind Melinda. As she moved, it moved with her. Chris blinked to clear his eyes, and by the time he looked again, the blur was gone. He turned to Wyatt, who was speaking.

"It's not personal gain if it's to save my life," the blond said pertly. "And, honestly, Mom would have had my skin for wrecking her beautiful kitchen." The word '_again_' wasn't mentioned, but it was definitely implied.

Melinda flinched once more with those words. She didn't want to think about death at all, not even as a joke. She couldn't help but think about all that had happened that day. First, she'd nearly gotten a tourist hit by a car, and now, she'd set her own brother on fire. They'd both been fine. But what if the strange accidents kept happening? What if next time, they weren't ok? What if they died?

Suddenly feeling suffocated, Melinda began to edge towards the door. Her brothers were still bickering, so they didn't notice. It was better that way; she wouldn't have to explain herself. Most important, she had to keep everyone safe. Melinda didn't know if it was bad luck, her being stupid, or something else entirely. She just knew one thing: if she wanted all of this to stop, she had to take herself out of the picture, one way or another.

With one last backward glance at the two innocent young men, her brown eyes glistening with tears, Melinda fled. Where she was going, she didn't know. What she did know was that she had to get away, far away. She had to go somewhere where she wouldn't be able to hurt anybody, and would be able to keep everybody safe from herself. She just had to get out of there.

-)-(-

"I'm telling you, Wyatt, if you keep using magic like that, it's going to come back to bit you in the ass."

"Nah, it's fine, Chris," Wyatt said, ruffling his younger brother's hair.

Chris frowned and as he shook the brown locks out of his eyes, he noticed that someone was missing. "Where's Melinda?" he asked.

Wyatt shrugged. "Probably in her room. She's working on a project for school or something," he replied. He settled himself down on a chair and stretched his long legs out in front of him. "It's like she wants to beat you at schoolwork, sometimes. Honestly, you guys have got to learn to relax."

Chris looked out the doorway uneasily. He didn't know what it was, but his sister's behavior was making him feel very uncomfortable, and if there was something he had learned lately, it was to follow his instincts. He was definitely going to follow them on this one. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but he knew that something was going on.

"Wy, do you know where the Book is?" he asked the Twice-Blessed rather suddenly.

Wyatt blinked in surprise. His brother rarely used the Book unless they were on a demon hunt. "It's up in the attic, why?" His eyes narrowed. "You're not going to try making the potion again, are you?"

Chris shook his head. "Nah, I'll do that later. I just want to check something."

"Then it's in the Attic, unless Mel is using it," Wyatt confirmed, satisfied that there would be no more messes that required cleaning. "Now I can go back to finding flowers for Jennifer," he said, orbing his mother's notebook into his hand.

Chris raised his eyebrows. "Flowers? Really? I had no idea you were so serious."

"I'm not!" Wyatt defended himself. "I just want to show her I appreciate her."

"Uh huh," Chris said skeptically, a wicked grin on his face. "Just let me know when the wedding is."

Wyatt blushed furiously. "It's not like that, really!" He had a reputation to keep, and his brother seemed intent on ruining it.

Chris was already moving out the door. "Whatever you say, man."

Wyatt, still very red in the face, decided to ignore his brother's words and instead opened up his mother's little book to find the flower-guy Melinda had recommended. "You have got to be kidding me! It's blank!" All the pages, previously filled with Piper's cramped handwriting, were now completely white and looked brand new.

"Personal gain, Wyatt!" Chris's voice rang through the house. There was a triumphant sound in it that hadn't been there before.

"Aw, come on!"

-)-(-

Chris chuckled as he headed upstairs, leaving his older brother to figure out how he would explain this one to their mom.

* * *

(A/N) Uh oh... So Melinda has realized that she's causing a bunch of accidents and feel horrible about them, Chris seems to suspect something but isn't sure what, and Wyatt just erased all the contacts from his mother's prized book... Very dramatic ending, don't you agree? I feel the sorriest for Wyatt. Imagine Piper's face when she sees that!

Anyway, thanks to everyone who added this to their Alerts and/or Faves. You guys are awesome! Special thanks to my reviewers: Fanycharmed and l3largus. You guys are awesome! And now would be the moment when I try to convince you guys to review. Unfortunately, I am exceedingly lazy today, so I have no reason to get you guys to review other than to make me happy. I'll see you next week!


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Chris continued up the stairs, ignoring his brother's calls for help. Wyatt would figure it out, he always did. And even if he didn't, it served him right for using magic for personal gain. Wyatt would have had to learn it eventually, and this seemed to be a good lesson to prove that he shouldn't keep on the way he had. Maybe Jennifer would be able to help him in that regard as well. Not as much as Piper, however. As soon as she heard about this, she would yell at Wyatt so badly! Chris winced in sympathy. He'd been on the receiving end of his mother's anger… it wasn't a pleasant experience.

But right now, he had more important stuff to focus on than his brother. He was worried about Melinda, and he knew that something was wrong with her. He didn't quite know what it was yet, but he knew that he had to find out why she was acting so strangely and what the strange shape he'd noticed behind her was.

Chris's mind began running through all the possibilities. He knew of many shape-shifters and demons that could become invisible. Chris didn't know what the benefits of doing that were, however. The thing hadn't been attacking his little sister… it had just been standing behind her. Maybe it wasn't even a bad thing. Maybe it was some sort of protective spirit?

As much as Chris wanted to believe that, he doubted it. The Halliwell luck was much worse than that, and things that could be harmless usually turned out to be much worse than originally thought. Years of saving members of his family had proven that.

Chris stepped into the attic and made a beeline towards the Book of Shadows. The large tome was sitting in its spot, looking harmless as it lay closed. Chris stood in front of it, thinking about what he needed to find. He then began flipping through the pages, searching for any mention of 'invisibility', 'shadow', and even 'spirit'. Chris felt a shiver as he read some of the pages. He really hoped it wasn't a spirit. Having been possessed by a spirit only a short time ago, he had no wish to deal with another anytime soon.

He didn't find anything particularly helpful, and Chris sighed. Maybe he'd missed it in his search, but something inside him was yelling that he didn't have enough time to read through every single page in the Book.

Closing his eyes, Chris struggled to sense his sister. As a half-whitelighter, he had the ability to sense people he was very close to. Melinda was one of them. Her spirit seemed fine, but strangely muted. Chris didn't know what to make of the fact.

He opened his eyes and grabbed a pen and paper that lay nearby. If he couldn't find out what was going on with his sister by more regular means, he'd write a spell that allowed him to see into his sister's mind. Surely it wouldn't count as personal gain, since he was actually very worried about her. And even if Melinda would get upset if she found out what he'd done, it was all for her good.

After struggling to make a rhyme, Chris looked down at the hastily made spell. The rhyme was clumsy and certainly wouldn't win any poetry competitions. It would work, however. He knew it. Chris cleared his throat and began to recite, feeling the magic flood him from the very first word.

"_Allow me to look into my sister's mind  
__The answers there lie for me to find.  
__To know if my worries are actually real,  
__What she is going through let me feel._"

As soon as the spell was over, Chris was assaulted by a barrage of feelings. Fear, sadness, anger, and guilt flowed into him, filling him to the brim. He couldn't feel any hope or happiness, and he knew that inside Melinda's mind, that was what was going on. Falling to his knees, Chris tried to make sense of Melinda's head.

Chris struggled against the emotions. His spell hadn't worked as he intended. He'd wanted to read her mind and find out what was wrong. Instead, he'd tapped into her emotions, much like his Aunt Phoebe did when she used her power as an Empath. It was messy and hard to define what was going on. It was also complicated to try and keep his own feelings separate from his sister's.

For more than a minute, Chris knelt on the ground. His head was in his hands as he forced himself to concentrate. He wouldn't be able to help Melinda if he couldn't sort out what was going on. He wished he'd spoken more to his Aunt Phoebe and figured out her method of sorting out everyone's emotions. He'd always written her power off as something he would never understand, though. He should have tried, though. Maybe that would have helped him now.

Chris could feel Melinda's emotions beginning to meld with his own fears, doubts, and insecurities. As soon as he sensed that he himself was in danger, he struggled even harder. He wasn't Melinda, and he had to keep a clear head if he wanted to help her. He had to help her, he was her older brother. He had to _focus, damn it!_

Finally, everything began to make sense. Chris began to be able to interpret his sister's feelings. Among them was guilt for some sort of tourist, for having burned him. Chris groaned as he read that particular emotion. He'd known she'd blame herself for the potion. Then, there was sadness for leaving them all, fear of hurting anybody else, and a single need. The need was to protect everyone from her. Chris could almost read her mind as it cried out.

'_I have to protect my family… have to take myself out of the picture…_'

Chris's eyes snapped open and he gasped. Melinda was planning to get rid of herself, and in that way, protect everybody else from the bad luck she thought she was projecting. She was planning on committing suicide!

Without even getting up from the ground, Chris called upon his orbing ability to take him to where his sister was at that moment. Ever since he'd found that particular feeling in her mind, he felt like he couldn't waste any time, not even to get up from the floor. He didn't even have time to call out to Wyatt, who was probably still busy with his mother's contact book. He just had to get to his little sister, his baby sister, before she did something drastic.

He couldn't believe it, honestly. How could she be feeling that way? Hadn't they proven to her time and time again that she was valuable and a part of the Halliwell family? She wasn't just an extra witch to them, but she was loved by everybody in the family! How could she believe that she had to kill herself to protect everybody else?

Chris searched through the city, using his new emotional connection with Melinda to locate her. He found her in a dark alley, still feeling strangely depressed. As Chris approached and began to take shape right behind her, however, he sensed another presence there, one that he hadn't felt before when he'd searched into the dark recesses of her mind. At the moment, though, he didn't consider it important. The only thing he had to focus on was the fact that his little sister was contemplating ending her life. He would not allow that to happen. He had to show her how much he loved her, and how much she was worth to the entire family. She would see sense, he knew it.

Chris finally appeared in the alley. He could only see Melinda, no sign of the other presence he'd felt. He paid no attention to it. It hadn't seen him, and that was the important part. Instead, he was focused on Melinda. "Mel!" he called out to the younger girl. She didn't seem to hear him. In fact, she hadn't even noticed that he'd appeared right behind her. "Melinda!"

She still didn't turn around, or stop walking down the alley into the even darker areas. Chris's eyes widened and he orbed out and appeared right in front of Melinda this time. "Mel!" he cried out as soon as his throat was solid enough to speak. Her dark eyes didn't recognize him. They just passed over him almost as if he wasn't there. Since when did Melinda not see him? It was Melinda, wasn't it?

Chris called back on the magic he'd used to feel the inside of her mind, to know what she was feeling. She was definitely there, right in front of him. Nothing in her emotions explained why she couldn't see him, however. Her emotions seemed to be normal, but just very dark. But she couldn't see him!

"Melinda! Look at me!" Nothing. Chris felt dark cold fear clawing at his heart, his own this time. It was the fear that he'd been too late. Maybe his little sister was already lost to him.

* * *

(A/N) *cues more dramatic music* I love ending with very dramatic and awesome moments like these! Anyway, yeah, not much time to talk today, but I really want to thank everyone who added this to their Alerts/Faves, or any of my other Charmed stories, actually. I'm always flattered to see that someone liked one of my stories enough to keep up with it! Super awesome thanks to my reviewers: Fanycharmed, whitewiccawitchsmalltownguy, and BCre8tive. You guys rock so much! Anyway, now I will leave you on my knees... Please review? I promise that for every review I get, I'll dance a song crazily and randomly! Come on, you guys don't want to deprive me of the awesomeness and a bit of humiliation, right? Anyway, see you guys next week! Bye!


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

"Melinda!" Chris called out, terrified at the idea that he might have already lost his sister, even if she was standing right in front of him. Still, she remained oblivious of her brother screaming her name over and over.

Chris's frightened green eyes filled with sorrow, and he decided to delve into her feelings once more. The spell was still working, it was there. All he had to do was access it. Maybe if he reached deep enough inside her emotions, he'd be able to find a way to fix her.

Taking a deep breath, Chris allowed Melinda's feelings to flood into him. He struggled against them at first, his natural instinct being to keep them away from what he actually thought and felt. However, he knew that wouldn't help. If he accepted them, maybe he could go in deeper. So, even though it was a huge struggle, Chris succumbed to the current.

Screams and memories tore at his ears and vision. Every voice blamed her, Melinda. He saw himself burning through her eyes. He saw a car veering close to a man and nearly hitting him. He saw what she didn't dare to even imagine… the way that her family died around her. He saw her in a cemetery, surrounded by gravestones portraying all the names of the Halliwell family. Melinda feared being left all by herself. She feared being the cause of everyone's death.

Chris opened his eyes. He hadn't even realized that he'd closed them. He began to look back at his sister, but the presence was felt once more. This time, it was even stronger. The shape, the fuzzy form he'd seen standing behind her, was there once more. Chris blinked and looked harder, his eyes narrowing as he tried to focus on what he was seeing.

There was a man. A man with dark hair was standing behind Melinda. He was wearing dark clothes, and Chris recognized him as a form of evil, but not necessarily what he was. The man was definitely making Melinda think everything, however. It was thanks to him that she thought that the only way out was to kill herself.

Chris's face set in anger as he realized that this man was trying to kill his little sister. "Mel, get out of here!" he told her, hoping against hope that his words would finally get through.

Melinda didn't notice, and the man glared at Chris and whispered something into the young girl's ear. Chris couldn't hear what it was, but he knew that he was probably egging her on.

"NO!" The raw scream tore through Chris's throat. He launched a nearby trashcan towards the man, being careful to avoid hitting his sister. The man easily avoided it, ducking down just in time. The trashcan flew over him to harmlessly hit a wall.

Growling, Chris tried again. This time, as soon as the can got close, the man stepped behind Melinda. Chris was forced to use his power to stop the object's trajectory, lest he injure his sister. He didn't notice the man conjuring a crossbow while he was distracted. The black smoke covered the bolt only until it was launched.

Chris looked back towards his sister and the dark man. He opened his mouth to warn her again, but the words never made it out of his throat. With a choked cry, Chris fell to his knees. He looked down at his chest only to see an arrow sticking out of him. Too late, he remembered the different powers Darklighters had. They could shoot their victims, kill their victims with the touch of death, or entice them to commit suicide.

It all came back, ironically when Chris could no longer do anything about it. The brown-haired young man fell to the ground, too weak to stay on his knees for long. He gasped out, unable to speak, reaching towards his baby sister. Her brown eyes didn't turn his way. She didn't even notice him.

The man smiled a triumphant smile behind her back. "There's nobody here," he said, and finally Chris could hear what was being voiced. "Nobody cares about you enough to stop you. They're all at home, without you. They're all better off without you."

Melinda didn't cry, but somehow that was even scarier than if she did. Instead, her face was empty but determined. She was refusing to feel any more, because it hurt too much. Chris, with the last energy of the spell leaving him, noticed as she closed off an emotional barrier. She just didn't care anymore.

"No," Chris whispered, reaching pathetically out to her as she began to walk away. "Mel," he begged. "Mel."

She just continued walking, the darklighter whispering horrible things into her ear. Chris allowed his hand to fall to the dirty ground, no longer strong enough to keep it in the air. His insides were torn from the arrow's blade. The poison coursing through his system was making it even harder to focus. As his vision began to dim, however, he realized that there was one person who would listen to his call.

"Wyatt."

-)-(-

Wyatt paced up and down his room. On his bed lay his mother's book. It was open, practically glaring with all of its blank pages. "_I call the spirits to undo the magic and_- no that's not right," Wyatt muttered to himself, glancing at the book again and again. Ever since Chris had gone upstairs, Wyatt had been struggling to reverse the spell he'd used on the book. His mother would kill him if she saw what he'd done. He had to change it back. However, reversing a spell was sometimes much harder than casting it, and it implied actual rhyming. Wyatt had always been terrible at making up spells, usually just using his magic to accomplish whatever he needed it to. In this case, however, it couldn't write the right spell for him.

"_Magic that took, return to me the book!_"

The book glowed briefly, and Wyatt allowed a smile to appear on his face. The book closed, and then launched itself at the young man's head. He was too surprised to do anything, and one of the corners hit him squarely on the forehead.

"OW!"

The book fell to the ground, and Wyatt opened it up to see it was still empty. Running out of ideas, he sat himself down on the corner of his bed. He decided to go and ask PJ for help. He might make fun of her spells, but at least they worked. Maybe if he groveled only for about ten minutes, she'd give in. As long as she didn't ask what he'd done, he'd be fine.

Wyatt had just stood up to go in search of his cousin, when a weak voice reached his Inner Ear. Wyatt frowned, unsure of who had called. Closing his blue eyes, he focused on the voice. It was coming from Chris. Chris wasn't in the Manor as Wyatt had thought, but in a random alleyway of San Francisco, and he was very weak. In fact, he was dying!

Wyatt gasped as he opened his eyes and hurriedly made his way to his brother's side. Piper's book fell to the ground and landed right under Wyatt's bed, eager to torment the witch even more when he returned.

-)-(-

The alley was illuminated by bright orbs as Wyatt made his appearance. He looked around frantically, looking for the familiar face and shape of his younger brother. A weak moan caught his attention, and Wyatt hurried over to the crumpled shape nearby.

The young man turned the body over, sighing in relief as he saw that Chris was still alive. "I'm here, bro. I got you."

Chris opened tired eyes to see Wyatt right above him. "Wy, Mel… she's-"

"Don't speak. I'll fix you up and get you out of here in no time. Don't you worry."

Wyatt steeled himself and prepared for what had to be done. However, Chris's hand stopped him. It was placed on his arm. Confused, Wyatt looked into his brother's younger face. "Wy, Mel is in danger," the younger man breathed. He was barely able to speak from the pain and the poison that flooded his entire body. His face was pale white, and his lips could barely move.

Wyatt's eyes widened as he heard his brother speak. So not only was Chris in trouble, but Melinda too? How could this have happened? Just a short while ago they'd all been hanging out in their house, having fun like they usually did!

"You have to help her," Chris continued speaking. His breath was now coming in short gasps.

Wyatt shook his head. "No, Chris. First you, then Melinda." The blond man tuned into his whitelighter abilities and found his sister. He couldn't pinpoint her location or her exact state of being, but he knew one thing. She was alive, for now. She wasn't in any sort of life-threatening situation, so she would just have to wait until he fixed up Chris.

Chris's green eyes looked defeated, however, and Wyatt wondered just what sort of danger his sister was in. Chris looked like Melinda was already dead. Deciding not to ask about it, Wyatt instead got to work.

* * *

(A/N) I'm so sorry, you guys! I really am! I was crazy busy for so long that I completely forgot all about this story! And I honestly have no good excuses for this, so you may be as angry with me as you need to be. I really apologize, it was all my fault, and I was very distracted. Anyway, I hope this chapter sort of makes up for my very long absence, I promise I didn't mean to be gone for so long. Don't hurt me, please!

Thanks to everyone who read this story, and sorry again. Special thanks to my reviewers: YugiohObsessed, l3largus, and Fanycharmed. Thanks, guys, you rock! And now, I will post this chapter! Sorry again, and this time, I promise not to forget about next week!


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

"Brace yourself, bro. This is going to hurt," Wyatt warned as he prepared to use his magic. The darklighter arrow was still buried deep inside his brother's body, and although it would probably be a relief for the young man to have it removed, he would doubtless lose blood as soon as it disappeared.

Chris nodded weakly, unable to say anything more. Wyatt's face grew even graver as he noticed how injured his younger brother was. He didn't speak, however. Instead, he called his orbing power to orb the arrow that was sticking out of Chris's chest.

The brunette cringed at the peculiar sensation, and although he felt some of the pressure being relieved, but he knew that wasn't necessarily a good thing. His vision began dimming alarmingly and his eyes began to flutter shut.

Wyatt made the weapon reappear just a short distance away, and with a twitch of his fingers, it burst into flames and vanished. Then, he applied himself to healing his brother. With a surge of affection he had for the young man, his little brother, he healed up the wound and eliminated all the poison that was flooding through Chris. "Come on, bro. Don't quit on me."

Chris sighed happily as he felt the pain go away. The weakness, however, remained. Being poisoned was rather different from being wounded in other ways. The dangerous liquid seemed to sap one's energy even after being healed. Chris had only felt that way a handful of times, and it seemed that the times had only increased ever since he'd decided to team up with his brother in defeating evil.

Chris opened his eyes to see Wyatt staring worriedly at him. "I'm fine, Wyatt," he said, beginning to sit up by himself. He brother leaned back a little, still looking at him with an anxious face. "Just a little sore, that's all."

"No, that's not all. Chris, why did you get shot by a darklighter?" Wyatt demanded. He couldn't believe that his brother would go off on a demon hunt without him. Hadn't they already established multiple times that that was dangerous?

Chris froze. He remembered how Melinda had just walked away, and how he'd warned Wyatt about their little sister being in danger. "Melinda! We have to get to her!" he cried out, trying to stand but wobbling as the weakness caught up to him.

Chris stumbled and was only saved from falling flat on his face by Wyatt, who'd stood up with him. "Whoa, take it easy. I've told you a bunch of times, when you lose a lot of blood it takes a while to get your strength back." Wyatt was being his overprotective self again. He couldn't help it. He was the oldest, after all. Plus, he was supposedly the most powerful witch in the world and was supposed to lead everyone in the magic world soon. How was he going to lead the entire world when he could barely keep his family safe? That question plagued the young man every day, but especially on days like these. "You're going to have to wait a while until you're strong enough," he repeated.

Chris shook his head wildly. "No, you don't understand. We don't have time! Melinda is being attacked by a darklighter!" he insisted. He began to look around, almost as if Melinda was hiding in the dark alley somewhere. She wasn't there, though, and Chris was a little weak to access his own whitelighter abilities.

"I would feel if she was hurt," Wyatt said. He was confused at the way his brother was acting. Darklighters were pretty straightforward in the way they killed either witches or whitelighters. They mostly got rid of the good beings the same way they'd tried to do in Chris. A shot by a poisoned arrow usually did it. Yet Melinda felt as healthy as usual. Her life force wasn't flickering or dimming. It felt just like it usually did.

"It's not a regular darklighter, Wy. He didn't shoot her," Chris said, trying to get his brother to understand. His heart was screaming at him to just orb to his little sister, but his head was taking control. His mind told him that the smart thing to do was let his older brother know all the facts before he did anything else. Going in without a plan rarely worked out well for anyone.

"So what did he do then?" Despite himself, Wyatt was beginning to get worried. It wasn't like Chris to get frantic over nothing. Something must be wrong if he was acting that way.

"He's the emotional kind of darklighter. Like the one that Mom talked about? Remember the bridge?" Piper had told them this story a long time ago. Her sister, Prue, had been emotionally attacked by a darklighter and had nearly thrown herself off a bridge. Fortunately, she had been saved. Piper was still reminded of the awful scene, however, every time they drove by the bridge. She would never forget the fear she'd felt, and she explained to her sons as soon as they were old enough to understand.

Wyatt paled as he realized the implications of what Chris had said. If his little brother was right, Melinda was receiving a psychological attack that very moment that was potentially damaging her emotional status. She would be contemplating suicide to rid the world of herself.

Instantly, he cast his magic in search of Melinda. He found her nearby. Knowing that Chris was too weak to orb himself after the poison that had infected him, he seized the young man by the arm and orbed them away. They had to save Melinda before it was too late.

-)-(-

Donovan was so happy that his plan was working. Outside, his face remained as stoic as usual. Inside, however, he was practically dancing a conga. Not long after he'd cast his dark magic over the girl he'd realized that she was one of the Halliwell witches. And yet, she hadn't been particularly hard to convince. In fact, she was rather easy compared to some other people he'd spelled. It was probably because she cared too much about others. That was always the weakness of the greatest people. The more they cared about others, the easier they were to depress.

His plan had very nearly failed for a second, when the girl's brother had seen him and realized what was going on. Donovan had underestimated the Halliwell familial ties. Luckily, the girl had been too far gone to react to her brother's pleas. That was Donovan's specialty. He made them fall swiftly but deeply. She was now under his complete control and would do anything he told her to.

Donovan loved the moment when his victim realized everything was pointless. They became so easy to mold after that. He considered himself an artist, able to cause even the strongest to fail. After he knew their weakness, it didn't take long for them to fall. In Melinda's case, it was her love for others and especially her family. After causing the accident with her brother, it had been obvious. A few whispered words later and he'd managed to get her out of the house and searching for the tallest building nearby.

The stupid boy had had to try and ruin it all. But Donovan wasn't worried now. The boy was probably dead by now. He knew that several Halliwells had whitelighter blood in them, and that had been proven by the young man orbing in. As long as he possessed a single drop of that angelic blood, he was susceptible to the poison. And, even if he wasn't, an arrow was still lethal if it hit the right place. Donovan had good aim, but sometimes he sought to prolong his victim's suffering. He hadn't outright killed the boy for that reason. Plus, his pathetic whimpers were quite amusing for the darklighter to witness. Good beings were just too easy to destroy.

At the moment, Donovan had led Melinda to a tall building near the center of town. He wanted many people to witness her demise. Not only would more demons find out about his actions this way, but many mortals would be negatively affected. Who knew? Maybe his next victim was waiting in the crowd nearby.

The girl had gone up the stairs. She'd hesitated at first, but Donovan had dripped verbal poison into her ears and her face had set. She'd finished climbing and was now standing near the edge, looking down. Below, the city of San Francisco was functioning as normal. Everyone was going about their daily business, not knowing that they were about to witness a horrific act.

"It is time to save the world, Melinda," Donovan said to the young girl, brushing away one of the strands of her dark hair in an almost tender gesture. "They will never be safe if you're still alive. You know what to do."

The girl hesitated and the looked down at the ground. The people underneath were innocents to be protected, she knew that. Her resolve hardened once more and she stepped onto the ledge. Donovan allowed himself a grin. It was all going beautifully.

* * *

(A/N) Hey, guys! So, true to my promise, here is the next chapter exactly one week after the last one! Nice, huh? I apologize for the times I didn't update, but here it is! Finally! And, after this, there are two more chapters left, and unfortunately, I haven't actually started to work on the story after this one. College is sapping all my strength, and I've had a tough week full of personal problems. And typing this is extremely difficult since my right hand is currently in a wrist brace... Anyway, pity party aside, enjoy!

As usual, thank you to my lovely reviewers! You are the best! Your reviews allowed me to get through the whole week intact! Thanks to: Fanycharmed, Yugiohobsessed, l3largus. You guys are the best! And see you next week! Hopefully, by then I'll be able to type!


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

The sound of the wind was the only thing in Melinda's ears. The only thing she saw was the street below, with all the people she had to protect. They were all innocents, and today had proven that she herself was not one of them. She couldn't live among them without putting them in danger, something that went completely against everything she'd learned about being a Halliwell. A Halliwell's first duty was to the innocents they were meant to protect. That ideal had been ingrained in her ever since she'd been old enough to begin to use magic. '_You never use magic for personal gain, Melinda,'_ everyone had always told her. '_Your magic was given to you for a reason. You have to protect the innocent.'_

Ever since then she'd assumed that meant vanquishing demons or warlocks who put innocent mortals at risk. She'd never dreamed of the possibility of becoming a threat herself. She knew that happened occasionally. Her mother was full of stories about how she had turned into a Wendigo, Paige into a Vampire, Phoebe into a Banshee. And, more recently, Chris had been possessed by a malevolent spirit. But whenever something like that happened to them, there was always a cure, a way to get rid of the evil in their bodies. This time was different. The little voice in her head was telling her that the blame couldn't be shifted on some outer force this time. Melinda herself had caused everything that day. She had thrown that tourist into the street; she had dropped the ingredient into the potion. It wasn't something inside of her. She was dangerous. That was why she had to die. She had to protect everybody from herself.

Melinda didn't notice the shape behind her. Donovan was whispering gleefully into her ear. He was talking about how she had to die to protect the world. That her duty as the daughter of a Charmed One was to protect the innocent. She had to take this action.

The darklighter could sense that the girl was getting extremely close to jumping. All that was needed now were the right words, and he was intent on delivering them. From his inner dark sense, he could feel that she just needed the right push. It shouldn't be too hard to give it.

Just as Donovan was about to figure out exactly what the words were, he heard a small sound behind him. He turned, cursing under his breath, as he recognized both of the Charmed boys standing there. The brown-haired one was looking pale and shaky, leaning against the older one who had doubtless healed him from the poison. He would still be out of commission for a while. The blond, however, had a face to be reckoned with. He looked like a force of nature, ready to do anything to defend his sister.

Donovan didn't even bother with making himself invisible this time. He knew the brothers would find a way to see him, one way or another. They were pretty handy with magic, after all.

He raised his crossbow and fired two bolts, one at each brother. This time, he wasn't aiming to cause them pain. He was aiming to kill both of them.

Donovan should have expected what happened next. The older brother raised his shield, so the arrows couldn't hit them. What he couldn't have foreseen was the younger man using his telekinesis and sending the arrows back. He'd thought the brown-haired man would be out of commission for much longer than that.

Donovan barely had time to orb out of the way of the incoming arrows. He reappeared right behind Melinda, who was still standing on the ledge. She was looking down into the street, blind and deaf to everything that happened around her, unless Donovan allowed her to.

The darklighter placed his hand on Melinda's shoulder, and the young girl didn't even twitch. "Be careful now," Donovan said in an eerily calm voice. "You wouldn't want to risk your little sister's neck, would you?"

Wyatt's face darkened even more. "You bastard! Keep your filthy hands off of her!"

Donovan leaned closer to Melinda. "Jump, my dear. You know what will happen if you stay. There's nothing left for you here but misery and sadness. You know what to do."

Wyatt opened his mouth to yell once more, but Chris pulled frantically at his sleeve. "No, Wyatt," he said quietly. "We don't antagonize the darklighter. We appeal to Melinda. That's still her. Some part of her will hear us, and she can pull herself out of this."

Wyatt looked dubious about this plan, but he trusted Chris and his sense of what to do. So instead of attacking the darklighter like he so dearly wanted to do, he decided to turn his attentions to his little sister. The attacks wouldn't have worked anyway, he reasoned. The bastard was standing dangerously close to Mel. If Wyatt hit him, he'd probably get her too.

"Mel," Chris was saying, weakly but firmly. "I know you can hear me. You just have to listen to me. Listen to me and don't listen to the other voice."

The darkligther was visibly frustrated, but he couldn't do anything while the boys were still protected in their bubble. "You don't hear anything. Nobody is here to save you. You're all alone, Melinda. And that won't change." His words were poison in Melinda's ears. A tear rolled down her cheek as she realized how lonely she truly was.

Wyatt found his voice. "Don't listen to him, Mel! We're here with you. Chris and I are always here! We've always been here and we always will be! You're our baby sister, Mel, we love you." His voice was breaking from the effort to make his little sister hear what he was saying.

"You're strong, Melinda," Chris began to say. "You're strong in a way our line is strong. But you're stronger than most. You can fight the hold the darklighter has on you. Fight him. You know you're meant to stay here and be a part of our family. You're a Halliwell, a Charmed One."

While Melinda stared into the street, a few words made their ways into her head. '_Love,_' they said. '_… strong… Halliwell… family… Charmed One…_'

Melinda looked up as she recognized the voices. Her brothers were speaking to her. She wasn't alone there, standing on the rooftop of the building. Her brothers had come for her.

She turned around, noticing the stranger standing behind her. She hadn't ever seen him before, but Melinda recognized him as the voice that had spurred her into standing on the edge of the building and contemplating suicide. He had caused all the horrible accidents that had happened to the people around her. It was all his fault.

The stranger's face had become red with fury when he saw her turn around, but as Melinda glared at him with her brown eyes, he paled.

"They're right," Melinda said to him, seeing her brothers out of the corner of her eye. "I am strong, and I am supposed to protect the innocent from beings like you. I will not die, because that is not my destiny. My destiny is to do great things."

The darklighter's eyes flared one more time, and he aimed his crossbow at the young girl. "Say goodbye to destiny, then." He shot an arrow straight at her, and Melinda didn't move. However, the arrow abruptly switched course in a swirl of orbs, and instead flew back into Malachi's own chest.

"You will no longer cause me pain or doubt. You do not have the right to intrude into other people's fears and insecurities," Melinda said, advancing on Donovan, who had fallen to his knees and was clutching at the arrow poking out of his ribcage. "You are defeated." With those last words, the darklighter exploded, impaled on his own arrow.

Melinda stepped down from the ledge, sighing in relief. She sat down on the ground as Wyatt made his shield disappear. The two brothers approached the younger girl hesitantly, astounded at what they had just seen.

"Mel?" Wyatt asked worriedly. "Are you alright?"

Melinda waved his question away. "Yeah, I'm just feeling a little drained, you know?" She eyed Chris, who was still looking rather weak. "Probably doing better than Chris, though. Seriously, what happened to you?"

Chris smiled faintly. "You were there, you just didn't see me."

Melinda frowned, trying to recall what had happened ever since that morning. The last few hours, probably because of the darklighter, were a blur. It felt as if she'd been in a really long and dark tunnel, only able to see her way with a flashlight. The flashlight, unfortunately, had been evil, and the only things that had been illuminated were things that made her feel even worse about herself. "Really?" she asked. The last memory she had of Chris was him and Wyatt arguing in the kitchen. "I can't remember."

"Like I said, you didn't see me," Chris repeated. "I'm fine, though. No worries."

Wyatt eyed both of his younger siblings with worried eyes. "We should go home," he suggested. "We're not supposed to be on the roof, and if people come investigating we could get in trouble." He didn't mention that the place was starting to give him the creeps, and he had to have a serious conversation with both of his younger siblings that couldn't be had there.

Chris and Melinda nodded, and all three Halliwells vanished in a swirl of orbs.

* * *

(A/N) I have a mess of apologies to give everyone. You guys probably thought I was dead or something. Well, I promise I'm not. I've just been crazy busy. College is crazy, and I barely have time to work. I'm actually in finals now, and it's really insane. Life is insane. There's so much stuff to do! So, I vanished from fanfiction for a while, and I'm sorry about that. I'm sorry it took so long for me to update this. Sorry to all my readers, but I promise the story is really close to being finished. Only one more chapter to go before it's done.

Thanks to my lovely reviewers. I'm so sorry that I haven't posted in so long, and it's thanks to you guys that I finally did: Guest, Fanycharmed, BCre8tive, l3largus, ObsessedwReading. You guys are so beautiful, and thank you for all your kind messages.

Hopefully I'll post the next chapter next week, when it's supposed to go up. I'll do my best, OK?


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

The living room was completely empty when three figures appeared in a bright swirl of lights. After arriving back at home, the figures composed themselves after the experience they'd just had. The oldest blond one immediately sat down on the couch to repose and think about the fact that he'd nearly lost both of his siblings that day, one to an arrow and the other to depression. The brown-haired young man looked at the girl, worry evident on his face. The girl's face was the scariest of all, since it was pale and her eyes were darker than they usually were, speaking of horrors that she had just witnessed.

"I guess it's safe to say that if Mom finds out about this, she'll never trust us again," Wyatt said, trying to inject some comedy into the situation. Two pairs of eyes looked over at him, telling him that now wasn't exactly the time to start looking at this with humor. He colored slightly.

Chris sat down on the couch next to his brother. "Really, Melinda, you scared us today," he said to the teenage girl. He still couldn't get over the fear of seeing his baby sister standing on the ledge. That memory would be haunting him for a while. "How did you even end up being his target?"

Melinda leaned against the armrest of one of the seats, reluctant to sit down as that would mean she would have less of a chance of escaping if either of her brothers lost it. "It's probably because I went demon hunting today." She cringed as she noticed Wyatt draw in a breath.

"You what?!" Wyatt was definitely Piper's son. Some of her yelling genes must have gone through when he was conceived, since he was beginning to project her in the worried tone that he took on whenever either of his siblings was in danger, which was happening more and more frequently nowadays. "Mel, you know you're not supposed to do that without Chris or me there to help you! You nearly got killed!"

Melinda's eyes narrowed as she saw her brother lecturing her. "Don't you tell me what to do! You're not my dad, Wyatt, and you're not the King of Magic yet either!"

Chris stood up, ever the middle child. "Wyatt, calm down. I'm sure Mel has a good reason for not asking for our help." He knew both of his siblings, and was sure they could argue all day if they were allowed to. He had to intervene, before the home ended up by being torn apart. He was also upset with Melinda, but he shot her a glance with his green eyes begging her not to make Wyatt angry but rather to explain herself. Chris really couldn't deal with two siblings who didn't speak to each other at the moment.

Melinda sighed. "I do, actually." She finally sat down. She'd been trying to avoid having the 'feelings' talk with her brothers, but at the moment she was left with no choice. "I went after the demon because I felt like you guys couldn't trust me."

Wyatt opened his mouth angrily again, but was elbowed in the ribs by his brother. Sending Chris a glare, he forced himself to calm down and speak rather than scream. "We do trust you, Mel. What gave you the idea that we didn't?"

Melinda shifted nervously. "You never ask me to vanquish demons with you. Whenever there's a demon on the loose, Wy, you go after it. Recently, Chris has been doing it too, but you guys never ask me." She was afraid of sounding whiny, but was sure that was the way she was coming across. She didn't want to be their complaining little sister, which was why she'd sought to show them what she could do without having this talk. It hadn't quite worked out, though.

"Mel, we've been trying to keep you safe and focused on your studies," Chris said. "Besides, you know Mom would never allow us to put you in danger. You're the youngest."

Melinda raised serious brown eyes against her brother's green ones. "She was like that with you too, until you defeated the Source all by yourself. Now you can do whatever you want." She didn't find it fair that Chris was now allowed to have his own demon vanquishes. She deserved them as well. "I just wanted to do the same. I wanted to show you guys that I'm ready to help out, and that I can do it by myself too."

Chris looked down at his hands guiltily. He knew exactly how Melinda felt, since he'd felt much the same way just a few months ago. A trip to visit the Source had changed that, although he still wasn't sure whether it was in a good way or a bad. Melinda had always been more focused on magic than he was, and yet he assumed that she wouldn't want to participate in demon vanquishes, or even be ready for them. He'd been treating her much like he'd hated to be treated.

Wyatt, however, was torn. He knew that Melinda was probably right in the way Chris had been right a few months ago, and that she deserved her chance to go and kick some demon ass herself. However, he couldn't stop thinking about the fact that she was his baby sister and needed his help, like when every time she'd fallen and gotten hurt when she was little. He knew she was growing up, but he still couldn't see himself letting her go into danger.

The silence was unbearable. "I did do it too," Melinda finally added. "I found a demon and I vanquished him. I even brought his athame with me to show you guys." She orbed the blade into her hands and set it on the coffee table. "I guess I just never counted on him having a partner."

"That's why you usually go in prepared," Wyatt said, doing his best to stay calm. "Mel, we do trust you, but you're our baby sister and we have got to keep you safe."

"But I'm not a baby anymore. I know I haven't got much experience, but I've learned a lot from books and stuff. How can I apply it if you don't let me help out once in a while?" Melinda looked at both of her brothers seriously. "There are three Charmed Ones for a reason, and I think there are three of us for a reason too. We're all supposed to keep innocents safe, together. The Power of Three is the strongest magic there is, after all."

Chris nodded. "You're right, Mel. We have been excluding you, and we'll do our best to let you help out in the future." He glanced at Wyatt, who'd tensed his hands into a fist. "Just don't count on going after the most dangerous demons first of all. How about we start with simpler ones?"

Melinda pursed her lips and glanced down. She wanted to start attacking the worst demons of all, but couldn't help but see the logic that Chris had come up with. "Ok."

Wyatt sighed. He knew there was no way out of this. "You also have to promise to not go after demons all by yourself. Whatever you might know from your books, you're still not ready." He noticed Melinda opening her mouth and he raised a hand. "I know Chris and I are doing it ourselves, but we're older."

Melinda stayed quiet and nodded tensely. She wanted to say that Wyatt had started vanquishing demons when he was around twelve years old, but knew that would only bring up the Twice-Blessed argument. Whatever. At least she got to participate in vanquishes now, and not feel like an outsider in her own family.

"And you have to promise to let us know what you're feeling," Chris added. "Not the teenage girl kind of stuff, but the magic stuff," he amended. No way did he want to know if his sister had a crush on somebody or wanted to paint her nails or anything. But, the feelings concerning magic had nearly killed her today, and he wanted them out in the open before anything like that could happen ever again.

"All right. Fine. And in exchange, you guys have to let me know about every demon you're going after and let me at least help a little. Maybe making potions in the kitchen, I don't care, but I want to know."

Chris and Wyatt agreed. "Ok."

Chris then forced a smile on his face. "I guess now we just need a cover story for when Mom and Dad get back for how we spent our afternoon."

Wyatt paled noticeably. "Oh shit! Mom's book! It's still blank!"

Melinda glanced at Chris inquisitively. Her brother mouthed 'personal gain' at her, and she grinned. "If you like, Wyatt, I might be able to help you with that one," she offered. She was almost as good at writing spells as her Aunt Phoebe. Magic School had taught her a lot.

"Really? Great! Let's go, then!" Brother and sister trooped out of the living room and went upstairs, hoping that they'd be able to solve the problem before Piper returned. Chris reclined on the couch. He'd had a rough day, but he couldn't help but think that hopefully things would be a lot better now. The second Power of Three was united. What could possibly go wrong?

* * *

(A/N) Sorry it took so long to post this chapter, you guys! I know, and I'm so sorry it's been a long while. On the bright side, though, this story is over! Unfortunately, I haven't written anything else. I will be writing, though, I promise. I'm probably going to post a few more chapters for Magical Mishaps, and maybe start working on another story. But for now, this is it. You guys are just going to have to be patient, which is asking a lot since I've been horrible at posting these.

As usual, thanks to my super lovely reviewers! You rock! Thanks to: Fanycharmed, l3largus. You guys are wonderful! Sorry it took so long, I hope you enjoyed the end, and I promise I'll work more on writing! See ya!


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